Their plan to give Sonny Gray a spot start Tuesday in an effort to spell their top arms backfired when the Twins piled on in a 10-5 victory. With Oakland winning earlier in the day, the Yankees’ lead for the top wild-card spot dropped to two, while the Red Sox became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff spot.

An always positive Aaron Boone couldn’t even find some silver lining from this one.

“We’ve gotta do better,” he told reporters. “We go out and lay an egg like that tonight, we did not play well all around. This is the time we have to play up to our capabilities and put our best foot forward every day.”

Gray gave up three runs, two earned, in three innings and then handed the ball off to Jonathan Loaisiga, recently called back up to the big league club. The young right-hander was charged with six runs on four hits, though it was Tommy Kahnle who gave up the fatal blow, a grand slam to Joe Mauer after Loaisiga was pulled with the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

After declaring himself “one of the best starters in the game” following his previous spot start, Gray was more humbled Tuesday, saying he lost the zone in a three-run third inning.

“The walks, it’ll kill you,” Gray said. “I think the more I walk guys the more trouble I get myself in.”

Though much has been made of the bats the Yankees have been missing over the past month, they now have every major part besides Aaron Judge back in the lineup. It’s safe to say Judge wouldn’t have made up for Tuesday’s deficit, and one slugger in particular who has been here all along should be of greater concern.

Giancarlo Stanton continued slumping, going 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout. After grounding out weakly for the final out of the eighth inning, he bounced his helmet on the ground in frustration. Over his last 10 games dating back to August 31, Stanton is now 4-for-38 with only two RBI. He has homered just once since August 19.

“I just think part of that is the cyclical nature of hitting,” Boone said of the team’s offensive inconsistencies. “We’ve got a couple guys trying to get it rolling again and get in that groove.”

One of the recent returns, Didi Gregorius, made an impact in the loss, launching a grand slam in the sixth inning to cut the deficit in half. It was the shortstop’s first home run since being activated from the disabled list with a bruised heel, and he also hit a triple in the second inning, not appearing bothered by the foot as he breezed around the bases.

When the Yankees do get Judge back – and the slugger has said he expects to return for “meaningful regular season games” – there can be no more excusing this offense, and the pitching will be under more of a microscope, Severino especially.

His recent struggles were the impetus for Gray’s start in the first place, as Yankee manager Aaron Boone tries to find a way to get his ace back on track. Severino’s ERA, which stood at 1.98 after a win over Boston on July 1, has ballooned to 3.52, and he has given up at least two earned runs in all 11 of his starts since that point. He’ll get a chance to help the Yankees rebound from this ugly loss when he takes the mound Wednesday night against the Twins.

With an off-day Thursday, Tanaka will then get the ball on Friday against the Twins with two extra days of rest and coming off a brilliant outing of eight scoreless innings against the Mariners. As it stands, he looks like the Bombers’ best bet in a do-or-die wild card situation.